Gov. Cuomo called for an investigation Wednesday into big time tax preparers over claims they hid options for low-income individuals to use free filing services. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink) (Hans Pennink/AP)

Gov. Cuomo called for an investigation Wednesday into big time tax preparers over claims they hid options for low-income individuals to use free filing services.

Cuomo called on the state Department of Financial Services and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance to investigate Intuit, H&R Block and other large tax preparation firms, citing recent reports that the companies hid free tax filing options from Google searches.

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“The allegations against these major tax return preparers are disturbing, and New York will not stand idle as the public’s interest is undermined in order to pad the profits of wealthy corporations,” Cuomo said in a statement. “I am calling on the Department of Financial Services and the Department of Taxation and Finance to investigate these claims to help ensure New Yorkers are protected.”

Tax payers who make $66,000 a year or less are eligible to file their tax returns for free under the the Free File Alliance. The agreement between the Internal Revenue Service, major tax preparation companies, and states, was reached in 2003 when the IRS promised not to create its own free, online service.

A ProPublica report found that Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, and H&R Block have actively steered taxpayers away from the free versions of their tax preparation services. The companies allegedly added coding to tell Google and other search engines not to list the free versions of their online tax filing tools.

“We have zero tolerance for these deceptive practices and those responsible will be held accountable for these egregious actions," Cuomo added.

An Intuit spokesman said the company is committed to the Free File Alliance’s goals and called the claims made against the firm “untrue.”

:Over the course of nearly two decades, more people have filed their taxes for free using an Intuit product than any other company," Intuit representative Rick Heineman said in a statement. “Our search and marketing practices around the IRS Free File program have been called into question. These characterizations are untrue and we look forward to sharing the facts with New York regulators.”